Passing the Exam

Written: April 15, 2011

            This is no golf exam I’m talking about.  This morning, I took the life insurance examination in the Insurance Commission of the Philippines to become a certified insurance agent.  After pulling an all nighter to prepare, it was a big relief to pass the exam. 

Contrary to what they say, cramming for the exam and packing the information in your brain the night before an exam really is the most efficient way to study and take an exam.  Studying the night before keeps information fresh in your mind and lets face it, none of us really do have the discipline to study days prior an exam.

Anyways, what really helped too was the guidance of Mr. Juanito Tan of BenLife who provided me with a one on one lecture over two days of all there is to know about life insurance. 

Now that I’m a certified insurance agent, I’ll be with Beneficial Life Insurance.  The next step will be to learn the products of the company and know how to select and tailor them to the specific client or corporation. I thank the company and especially Mr. Jojo Mercado and Mr. Jaime Fernandez for the opportunity to work and learn the insurance business.  I plan to take this job with Beneficial Life seriously and put the same effort and passion as I do with my professional golf career.

For the future, if you’re interested in group or life insurance policies, you can come approach me for assistance.  As they say in BenLife, “Ang alagang tunay ay alagang BenLife.” 

Visit http://www.benlife.com.ph/enhanced for more information.

PGT Northwoods Interview

Interview after the 4th place finish on April 1, 2011

PGT Malarayat 1st and 2nd Round

           Coming off fresh from a 4^th place finish in my pro debut four days prior, I was feeling red hot and flying with confidence.  The field was loaded with big names.  All the Asian tour players were present as well as Champions Tour player Frankie Minoza.  Despite the strength of field and no matter where or what the tournament is, one thing remains the same: shoot par or better, and the rest will take care of itself. 

First round, afternoon tee time.  As the winds picked up and the greens got firm and fast in the afternoon, the course became increasingly challenging.  After cruising nicely at even par through 8 holes, I hit a wall in the middle of the round going bogey, bogey, bogey, double bogey.  5 over in a flash with to play.  That’s where I would finish the round, a disappointing 77.  Surprisingly, just one shot off the cut line.

The second round didn’t go any better either.  In short, another 77.  9 bogeys and 4 birdies.  I could list down a bunch of excuses as to why things didn’t go my way for this round and the previous one but I’d rather not since it would be counter productive.

A total of 10 over for two rounds ain’t gonna cut it.  The cut settled at 7 over.  Just 3 shots off on two rounds that seemed to have a never ending series of bad breaks. 

            That’s golf I guess.  You never seem to figure it out.  Last week I felt on top of the world, extremely confident about taking my game to the pros and the next week my heart sinks.  As the great Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz once said, “you’re never as good as you think you are but you’re never as bad as you think you are either.” Its just a matter of staying even keel through the ups and downs.

            The next PGT tournament won’t be until May 18-20 in Orchard.  I’m hoping to receive a sponsor exemption into the Asian Tour Philippine Open in Wack Wack May 12-15.  Let’s cross our fingers.  ‘Till then, its back to practice and repetitions.  I’ve taken my game to new heights since graduating from college last year.  Just gotta keep climbing and pick myself back up when I stumble. 

PGT Malarayat Warmup

           By the way, if you’re wondering what PGT stands for, its Philippine Golf Tour.  Check out their website: www.pgt.ph There will be live scoring once again for this Malarayat Leg to be played tomorrow April 5-7, 2011

            It has been a quick turn around after the conclusion of the PGT Northwoods last Friday.  I spent Saturday with my grandparents in Greenhills from my dad’s side then later that afternoon I went over to Magallanes for mass and the weekly family dinner with my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents from my mom’s side.  Having earned my first paycheck in golf, I treated them out to Haagen Daz ice cream and suffice to say, they all enjoyed it.  Strawberry and coffee.  Yum! 

            The following morning, on Sunday, I teed it up with Ton and Coach Cassius in Southwoods, worked on the range a bit thereafter, then headed to Montecito (team house near Country Club) to set up camp.  After a nice afternoon/evening with a good friend, it was back to Montecito to sleep for the night.

            Today, Monday, April 4^th, Dante, Peter and I set out to Malarayat to play a practice round for the tournament.  I ended up playing with Chuck Hong and Cookie La’o who knew the course pretty well, lent me his range finder, and gave some useful course tips.  After an exhausting 18 holes of plotting carry distances and green slopes in my notebook, I decided to play another 9 alone to relax and hit a bunch of balls.

            I don’t want to speak too early but I must say, I’m hitting it pretty solid, the putting stroke seems natural, and my caddy Gody, who caddied for me for the first time today, did not make a single mistake in the reads she gave me.  I don’t think I’ve been more impressed with how well a caddy reads the greens.  That’s a great sign!

            With an afternoon tee time tomorrow for the first round, Dante and I made the 45 minute drive back to Montecito.  Tomorrow, we’ll leave in the morning.

            Business as usual in the office! 

PGT Northwoods Final Round

Written: April 1, 2011

            I had the 2^nd to last pairing for the final round at the season opener PGT Northwoods.  Upon checking out of the hotel, it was straight to the golf course and the usual routine.  A morning shower in the locker, breakfast at the canteen, and the warm up.  The morning was quiet and still.  Partly because the winds were down and partly because only the top 40 players who made the cut were left on the course.  No more hustling for a spot on the range. 

            As comfortable as I was playing the final round, the swing didn’t seem to cooperate and I could feel it right away in the driving range.  Was it because the wind was so calm for the first time that I wasn’t able to hold my ball up against the wind? I was making these sorts of excuses.  Then I remembered what Bob Rotella said that you must believe in your swing.  Whether you’re hitting it well or not, that’s your best option, to never give up on your personal ability. In golf, an individual sport, you have to remind yourself to be your own best friend.

            The round started off with a couple shaky full swing shots but calmly sinking an 8 foot par putt on the first hole eased things up.  The whole round with Cassius Casas and Kevin Tayao would prove to be a hard fought battle to save pars.  Some days, everything seems to be in place as was yesterday when I easily shot a 67 but today was different.  I hung in there well however, to scrape away whatever I could.  Energized by a 30 foot birdie on the 9^th hole to turn in 1 over 37, I continued to grind my way home to 9 straight pars on a back nine in which I encountered tough pin placements, dry greens, and windy weather. 

            The highlight was on the last hole when I sank a 9 foot par putt.  That 9 foot par putt kept me in a 4 way tie for 4^th place.  In the moment, I was so focused on making the putt, finishing the round strong and that alone.  Looking back, I’m grateful I was able to remain focused and that it worked out because looking at the final payouts, that putt was worth a lot.

            Great start to the season and my pro career!  I grateful to have the financial support of ICTSI and even more grateful to have the support and encouragement of my parents, brother, coaches, and all my loved ones.  ‘till next time, stay tuned!

PGT Northwoods 2nd Round

Written: March 31, 2011

            I’ll make this blog short and sweet. I went low, had the best round of the day today by shooting a 5 under 67.  The birdies just kept coming.  Ball striking was superb (15/18 greens) and the putts kept falling.  7 birdies and 2 bogeys.  Goal of making the cut in my pro debut: check!

            The effort moved me up the leaderboard all the way to 4^th place tied with mentor/coach Cassius Cassas who I’ll be playing with tomorrow in the 2^nd to last group.  We are trailing the big guns Juvic Pagunsan at -8, Jay Bayron at -7, and Tonyt Fernand at -6.  I couldn’t have scripted a better season opening tournament.

            Follow the action on www.pgt.ph 

Pro Debut: PGT Northwoods 1st Round

Written: March 30, 2011

           

            If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you’ll know that I just turned pro.  On Monday morning, Chuck picked me up in the house and we drove together to Northwoods on a convoy with the other pros and amateurs.  First, we made a stop over at the drive in motel I stayed in last October.  Roommates with Chuck, we paid for four nights Monday through Friday on a 12 hour basis: 7pm-7am so it could fit in our budget.

            Having played here last October, everything from the golf course to our daily routine was familiar.  Familiarity brings comfort and the more comfortable you are usually translates to better performance on the course.  Same hotel, same course, same places to eat (SM Food Court, Bacolod Chicken Inasal, Caddy’s Canteen beside the clubhouse), same trusty caddy – Lody, same company.

            Monday and Tuesday were the practice round days.  Got a good feel of the course, which happens to play a lot firmer than last year.  Also, the greens, which still has strong grain, seems to be cut and rolled more making it a lot quicker.

            Good thing is, coming into today’s first round, my swing was feeling good.  It has been for a while. J  Perhaps it really is the practice and the repetitions that really help groove the swing.  I’d say there were a bit of nerves teeing off earlier.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  The fact that I had just turned pro didn’t affect me one bit.  I was more concerned about playing the golf course and playing it like any other tournament I have in the past.

            With on and off ball striking but solid short range putting, I turned in a steady round of even par. 1 birdie and 1 bogey.  Overall, it was quite satisfying to open with a 72.  Surprisingly, the projected cut of top 40 was at 1 over.  A lot of good scores but most came in the morning with the more benign conditions.  Gotta keep stepping on the pedal! 

Journey Thus Far

Written: March 28, 2011

            Trying to figure out where to begin the story? How do I make this interesting to read?  How bout… The best way is to make this short and sweet.  A timeline of how things played out.  So many developments over the last 3 weeks and oh my, it’s been such a roller coaster ride. 

March 7: It all began with the news that those over 22 years of age would be booted, kicked out of the sponsored ICTSI amateur team.  There were rumors prior to that about Ricky Razon’s but this news delivered by coach Nestor was final and executed.  We were given ‘till April 1 to live in the house and remain at Country Club to practice. Life as we knew it would indeed not be the same anymore.

March 8: I had to weigh my options at this point. No more sponsorship, possibly no more course to practice in the Philippines? No more incentive to stay amateur.  The best move was to turn pro.  The first ICTSI pro tournament of the season would be played March 30, 2011 in Royal Northwoods.  I would have to move swiftly to become eligible as a pro to play in the event.

March 9:  Had conversations with mentors, coaches, and parents about what the next move should be.  Made the necessary phone calls to pro organizations on how to get my license.  Raymund Sangil at first said it would be a matter of paying the organization fee to become a licensed Philippine Pro.

March 10: Raymund Sangil calls again delivering a bit of troubling news that we aspiring pros who were kicked off the team: Chuck Hong, Peter Villaber, Erwin Madrileno, and I had to pass a qualifying exam. A playing ability test to receive our Tour Professional license from their organization.  Playing dates: March 17 and 18 at the Country Club.

March 11: Meeting with tournament director Mike Carr about entry to the first tournament in Northwoods, March 30^th as a “sponsors exemption”. He ponders and given our recent situation, he said he’ll let us play.

March 14: Visited my mom’s old business before: Health Lab in Medical Plaza to get a chest Xray and an ECG.  Those tests are necessary to present to the GAB (Games and Amusement Board) to clear you for a professional athlete’s license. Then went to my dad’s doctor partner in Makati Med to meet cardiologist Ray Kasilag and have him approve the tests.

March 17-18: Paid organization entry fee and played the playing ability test in Country Club and passed it! (See previous blog for the story)

March 21: Went to GAB (Games and Amusement Board), the government sports agency, Makati office to pay the government fee and drop off the necessary health forms.  When I walked out of there, I was officially a pro athlete and eligible to play the Philippine Golf Tour!

March 23: Received the best news from Ma’am Colo Ventosa, the one who manages the ICTSI sponsored pros.  She sent a text saying: Congratulations, you will be sponsored as an ICTSI pro!  That news was like Christmas on steroids!!!

March 25: Contract signing with Ma’am Colo! What a day!

            While it’s only the beginning, there was a feeling of closure with that signing day.  Looking back at the entire timeline, so much effort yet so much uncertainty remained three weeks ago.  Now everything has fallen well in its place.

            With a sponsorship backing for the next six months.  A course to practice in, a house 5 minutes away from the course to live and eat in, travel and all related tournament expenses taken care of… Thanks ICTSI!

            Living the Dream!

Philippine Pro License Qualifying

Written: March 18, 2011

            It’s the end of the qualifying rounds and now I can finally take a breather.  Over the past two days, I, along with my ICTSI amateur teammates Dante Becierra, Erwin Madrileno, and Chuck Hong were subjected to a 54 hole qualifier to determine whether we could get our touring license to play as a professional golfer in the Philippines.

            The dates for this event: March 17-18, 2011.  36 holes the first day then 18 holes the following day to be played in our home course, The Country Club.

            Akin to the playing ability test given to would-be teaching pros in the United States, we were given a standard to be met.  Much like an exam with a predetermined passing score, the required target was 9 over or better for 54 holes.  You’d think this benchmark should be no problem at all to aspiring pros who play golf full time.  This 9 over target is universal to all players in all courses. 

Even though we were playing our home course of The Country Club, dealing with the 30 mph winds all 3 rounds was the biggest challenge.  The winning score in the pros, Angelo Que, who took home 1.4 million pesos for the event, had a 4 day total of 6 over par! That’s how difficult country club plays with its monster length and strong winds.  The only reprieve: moving it from a par 70 to a par 72.  Alright, fine.

            In the morning 18, I got off to a solid start shooting an even par 72.  The afternoon was a bit more difficult.  Cruising along at 1 over par after 8 holes, I ran into deep trouble on the 18^th hole and made a quadruple bogey.  5 over after 27 holes and all of a sudden, that 9 over benchmark score was creeping on my mind.  Luckily, I managed to hold it together for an even par back nine despite mighty strong wind gusts to shoot a 77.

            It was a bit difficult to sleep comfortably that evening with lingering thoughts about the consequences of not making it through qualifying.  The next time  you could attempt to qualify would be in June and by that time, I would have missed almost half the ICTSI pro tournaments for the season already.  Not to mention, I’m still awaiting word about whether ICTSI will sponsor me as a pro.  How could they put me up for consideration if I didn’t even attain my TPGA license?

            A lot of worries but I knew there was just one way to settle this: take away those worries and play the golf you’re capable of.  Despite the 30 mph winds the last day, I put on one of the best displays.  Managed my game well, executed, and made some putts.  After going 2 under through my first 3 holes, I knew I had it in the bag.  With the comfort of my game, I added on the birdies to finish with a 4 under, 68.

            Three round total of 1 over, 217 was well inside the cut.  A lot of steps ahead to get the pro license and a lot of question marks about the future but man, what a moral victory that was to pull through and complete the challenge.

            Stay tuned and more updates to come!